A study of the viability of the Syrian contract law in regulating smart contracts

The technological advancements that have occurred over the past few years have provided various solutions to human problems. However, it also posed several novel, unprecedented legal challenges. Smart contracts represent one of these technologies that pose serious questions to the current contract laws. This research aims to conduct an in-depth investigation into the legal viability of the current contract law in Syria for regulating smart contracts, considering their unique and novel characteristics and features. To achieve this objective, the study employed a combination of doctrinal legal research, drawing on primary, secondary, and tertiary sources; and qualitative empirical research through several semi-structured interviews. Special reference has been made to the current legal benchmarks in the field of smart contracts, namely Belarus, Italy, and the United States, to provide more accurate and applicable recommendations. The findings of the research reveal a clear legal gap in the existing legislation for addressing smart contracts, despite the possibility of classifying them under the general definition of a contract. Due to the complete absence of any legal provision or regulations, numerous unanswered questions related to the contract’s life cycle have arisen, posing serious legal risks to the parties and creating uncertainty regarding the legal measures for protection, supervision, and enforcement. The study proposes several measures to address the complexities of smart contracts, involving the importance of initiating legal amendments to create a framework that enables parties to execute smart contracts in a legal, secure, and enforceable manner. This can also mitigate the significant risks posed by leaving these technologies unregulated. To design an effective legal framework, the study proposes a new conceptual framework that integrates smart contracts into current contract theory, while accounting for their unique characteristics to maximize benefits and minimize possible legal risks.